Sleeping habits

Question
Hi Ali, My kitten is about 3 months old now and for some reason when My wife and I go to bed at night he curls up at the base of one of our necks and purrs as loud as he can. It seems to be some kind of genetic behavioral pattern because he is relentless in trying to get us to pet him. He gets more attention than any cat Ive ever known and at first this behavior was cute but now its starting to get almost annoying. Is there a simple fix to changing his sleeping patterns, so that he sleeps at night?

Answer
Andrew,

It is important that you understand that just like people all cats vary in personality, temperament and behavior. Based on your description of this behavioral issue I would suspect that your kitten was weaned too early. I am going to provide a brief explanation of what this means for your kitten and whether or not you will be able to change the insecure behaviors that your kitten has developed. Many kittens taken from their mothers at 6-8 weeks of age haven't been completely weaned and unfortunately many owners aren't aware that just because they don't see the kittens nursing frequently doesn't mean that the kittens have been weaned completely. Mother cats start the weaning process around 6-8 weeks of age give or take a few days to a week. I encourage cat owners to keep the kittens with their mother for 10-12 weeks as this will allow stronger kittens to be placed in adoptive homes. Young kittens are very fragile in terms of their resistance to infection once the weaning process starts because the protective antibodies that came from mom's milk are being gradually decreased. Young kittens also have extremely soft bones which can lead to a higher risk of bone fractures. Kittens also learn important social skills and develop independence and confidence during the first 12 weeks of life which is why my recommendation to anyone who is caring for a mother and litter of kittens is that kittens spend at least 10-12 weeks with their mom and siblings.

The clinginess that you describe is not uncommon in kittens taken from their mother and siblings too early or hand raised kittens. Some kittens are more likely to become clingy, insecure and develop self soothing behaviors that are equivalent to a child sucking their thumb or carrying around a security blanket. These behaviors can include a need to suck on fabric, human body parts or even other pets in your home along with many other objects. Some insecure kittens will become clingy and develop behaviors similar to those that you describe while other kittens will suffer from varying degrees of separation anxiety. At this point your kitten has decided that you are her security blanket. Behavioral issues that are the result of insecurity or anxiety can be quite difficult or impossible to change. Changing behavior patterns in an insecure kitten should be approached with an understanding of why the kitten is behaving the way that they are, care to reduce your kitten's chances of developing further anxiety, patience and love.

Kittens that show signs of insecurity are sometimes just anxious and submissive by nature while others have endured a traumatic early separation from their mother for a variety of reasons. I would like you to understand that changing this behavior isn't an overnight project. It's quite possible that your kitten could become more anxious as a result of trying to change these behaviors. It is important to approach any attempts to change behaviors resulting from anxiety/insecurity with sensitivity and patience. There are a number of different options for changing these behaviors and I can't really guarantee that any of them will work... My oldest resident cat was rescued at approximately 7 days old and I hand raised her, fairly early on she developed a habit of sucking on other resident cats. Over time I was able to convince her to suck on her own fur if she felt the need to suck. Essentially I'm trying to help you to understand that your kitten may never entirely stop the self soothing behaviors that you describe however, you may be able to alter the behaviors to make them more acceptable to you.

You start off by gently moving your kitten to a less disturbing position, the disadvantage of this is that you will most likely need to repeat this consistently for a number of nights. Cats in general aren't fond of change and that includes instances like this where they are insecure and have developed self soothing behaviors. The important part of creating change in feline behavior is patience and consistently. In other words you must always follow through exactly the same way every single time that your kitten exhibits behavior that you aren't fond of. This means that you may very well not get much sleep for awhile because any time you allow the behavior you will encounter a set back. Cats can be quite stubborn and creating changes in their behaviors can sometimes be a tall order especially in situations like this. You could try getting your kitten a soft, cuddly stuffed animal to snuggle up to. Your kitten will most likely prefer to snuggle up to something warm which is probably how this behavior developed initially. In some parts of the world you can find stuffed animals like teddy bears that have a pouch that can be opened which would be ideal for placing a reusable hot pack inside and giving your kitten the warm cuddly object to snuggle up to which may make for a smoother transition to a new behavior. I have seen these stuffed animals in toy stores and pharmacies on occasion and they are generally marketed to help lower a child's fever by placing a cold pack inside of the pouch. It may be significantly easier to try using a heating pad set on low covered by a sheep skin pouch. You can also try homeopathic remedies like Bach's Rescue Remedy which will help reduce your kitten's anxiety levels. Rescue Remedy is a very safe & effective homeopathic remedy that is a blend of flower essences. You can normally find Bach's remedies in health food/natural health stores. It is worth noting that places where Rescue Remedy and other Bach remedies are sold often have a wheel that describes symptoms and matches them up with the appropriate remedies. You may also want to consider consulting with a holistic veterinarian if at all possible. Holistic vets are trained in conventional medicine and alternative therapies that can include homeopathy, massage, acupuncture and herbal remedies. The nice thing about having a holistic vet is that they treat the whole animal rather than just the symptoms your cat is exhibiting. I really like my holistic vet and I have seen incredible changes that were the result of homeopathy. My vet describes homeopathy as being similar to an onion. Essentially homeopathy permanently removes symptoms, but once one issue is resolved there may be another underneath so your kitten may require more than one remedy.

Essentially I am trying to help you to understand the reasons behind your kitten's behaviors. I hope to help guide you towards behavioral modification that will help change undesirable behaviors that you see in your kitten and helping her to become more secure in her environment rather than using disciplinary methods that punish her for being insecure. This whole situation requires love, patience and consistent gentle guidance as the behavior that you are dealing with is often the result of people removing her from her mom too early or your kitten simply being more sensitive and anxious than other kittens. The fact that your kitten has opted to turn to you for comfort is a clear demonstration of just how resilient cats are. You may not be successful in convincing your little one to move off of the bed completely, but it is important to avoid causing further anxiety or stress to your kitten by approaching this situation with compassion, patience and sensitivity which can help to avoid increasing her anxiety levels which would increase any self soothing behaviors which is the exact opposite of what you are hoping to achieve. I hope that you have found this information helpful. If you have any further questions, concerns, or you would simply like to send an update or some pictures my way, please don't hesitate to contact me again.